Hard to Believe

With the completion of Rounds 1, 2, and 3, I am scratching my head in dis-belief. The following powerhouse programs had no one drafted in the first round. They are Southern California(USC), Louisiana State(LSU), Ohio State, Georgia, and Notre Dame. In the 2009 NFL draft, USC had 11 players drafted which was the most in college football and had multiple #1 picks as did Ohio State. I would not classify this as a changing of the guard but I would qualify this statement by saying out of the 5 schools mentioned, numerous underclassmen entered the 2009 draft. Ohio State perennially had at least 1 and possibly multiple #1 choices. With a series of underclassmen entering the draft every year, it can deplete your talent levels. Now of other interest to local fans, in the 2nd round, Pittsburgh Steelers chose DE/OLB Jason Worilds from Virginia Tech. Worilds was a 4th year Junior that came out early. He is an explosive up the field pass rusher coming off the edge and utilizes his quickness combined with an athletic counter move to be a dangerous one-on-one pass rusher. Can he transfer his talented to Outside Linebacker. The potential is there but he can create havoc as a pass rusher in the 4-3 defense.

The 3rd round selection out of Southern Methodist is 5'11"/185 Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders can be a slot receiver, has quickness out of his break, and shows the ability to stretch the defense with his deep patterns. He hands are good and he has bounce in his legs and the proper timing to high point the ball. His is somewhat slight in his body but has toughness to go across the middle of the field and not shy away from the vicious contact generated by Safeties. Onward to the latter rounds which are valuable choices.

Out on the Limb

I am going to go out on the limb a little here. I have this feeling that the Pittsburgh Steelers are taking a serious look at drafting one of the following 3 players in the subsequent rounds tonight and through early tomorrow. They are solid OT/OG prospect Vladimir Ducasse from UMass who should go in the second round, a sleeper in my eyes QB named Levi Brown from Troy State who is a totally un-heralded player, and last but not least DE/OLB James Harrison clone named Arthur Moats from James Madison. I mentioned these players in earlier stories but I feel now that with their remaining choices, the Steelers are in line to take one of these three. Word was out there that Big Ben was on the trading block but obviously no takers. Check an earlier blog called Steelers:24/7 and see what I said may happen in the Early Fall Steelers season. This is a very exciting time for football even though no games are being played.

Now Comes 2nd and 3rd Rounds

Now comes the all important 2nd and 3rd rounds of the NFL Draft. In past Draft history approximately 40% of the first round choices do not pan out like they should. Teams are throwing away good money after bad based on a player's potential. This is why the draft in any sport is unique especially the NFL. The Philadelphia Eagles got a great pick at #13 in DE Brandon Graham from U. of Michigan. The Pittsburgh Steelers choice of offensive lineman who I call a swing man(can play either center or guard)Maurkice Pouncey is a sound choice. In this league you throw the ball to score, you run the ball to win. Guys that play in the pitts are in my estimation, the backbone of the team. If you can strategically move the football down the field in an orderly fashion with runs and safe passes, you can freeze the other teams offense and demoralize it's defense. Now comes the all important 2nd and 3rd rounds. This is where you can find your pro bowl guys, your 8 to 10 year starters, and players that can win a team football games. Let's enjoy the NFL draft because as of 2010 it has become a Prime Time event.

Steelers:24/7

The Steelers trade for Byron Leftwich has me starting to think about a few things. The NFL draft is less than 24 hours away and Pittsburgh gives up only a Seventh Round pick for a former first rounder in Byron Leftwich. As of 7:30 PM April 21, 2010, the Steelers have 4 veteran quarterbacks. One who has won 2 Super Bowls, another who is a crafty veteran but unfortunately as of late, has gone through a series of injuries, another who is a young athletic style quarterback with a lot of upside and can run with the football, and another who has gone from Jacksonville to Pittsburgh to Tampa Bay and now back to Pittsburgh. Could the trade rumors be for real now? With the return of Byron Leftwich, who is a very capable QB with a ton of experience against all sorts of defensive schemes, it looks like a trade is possible for a high draft choice. But this trade may not take place on Thursday April 22 which many people feel will occur but it cannot be ruled out. This trade may occur during the early part of the upcoming football season for a number 1 draft pick for the 2011 draft plus maybe other draft incentives. Nothing surprises me in the Wonderful World of Sports Entertainment. Maybe the Steelers are going Back to the Future. Antwan Randle-El is back, Larry Foote is back, Byron Leftwich is back, Carey Davis was signed back last year, and maybe just maybe when our former Left Guard Alan Faneca becomes a free agent again, maybe the Steelers will bring him back. Many wish Faneca would have never left Pittsburgh. A lot of this is speculation but this keeps the fans talking about the Steelers 24/7.

Some "Rip Van Winkle's" of the NFL Draft

Rip Van Winkle is an over-used term for a sleeper but if someone out there in this vast world of ours can come up with another cliche for sleeper, please let me know. Here is a question that I will answer at the bottom of this article? In the movies or TV, who got to sleep faster than anyone you have even seen(answer at bottom). Here are your"Rip Van Winkle's" for this April 22-24 NFL draft: WR Marcus Easley from UConn, former walk-on had a terrific season year, is big, has good hands, and runs well. MLB Danny Batten from South Dakota State, converted DE can play MLB and is physical, DE/OLB Albert McClellan from Marshall, is a big strong powerful edge player that will hit you. DT Sean Lissemore from William and Mary, fast twitched 3 technique guy who is very disruptive in both the running and passing game. WR Blair White from Michigan State, has special hands, runs well, and is a big target. FS Quinton Scott from Northern Iowa, a 1AA athlete who is a big rangy free safety and can make plays. Rb Curtis Steele from Memphis, tad under-sized for some but a jet quick elusive tailback that looks like a mini Chris Johnson. DE Alex Carrington from Arkansas State is a big 5 technique that plays the run very well and may move in DT(3 technique). These guys are not household names but may make noise in years to come in the NFL. The Three Stooges get to sleep faster than anyone I have ever seen on any production. Curly Howard is snoring before his head hits the pillow.

Bad Bad Levi Brown

This guy may be the premier Stealth Bomber of the 2010 NFL Draft. Someone says what do you mean by Stealth Bomber. The design of the Stealth Bomber was to fly under the radar. That is exactly what Levi Brown is doing until recently was flying under the NFL Radar. Who is Levi Brown. He is 6'3"/218 QB from Troy U. He made a rare but effective upward transfer from a 1AA power U. of Richmond to a solid 1A program in Troy. Many of the other QB's get tremendous publicity(Bradford, Claussen,McCoy,Tebow,etc.)but Levi Brown can play and is on the RISE. Brown has a very quick release and reads defenses very well. When he gets on a roll, he can complete a bunch of passes in orderly passion. His arm strength is really good across the hash mark and he can deliver the ball into the depths of the secondary. At the end of the season he was a guy to evaluate, he displayed his skills in the Texas vs Nation All-Star Game, and did extremely well at the NFL Scouting Combine. His pro days and individual work-outs went beyond scouts expectations and now he has blossomed into a legit QB prospect. Keep an eye on him in the draft early Saturday(rounds 4 through 7)but a guy that down the NFL road could become a starter.Some poster in an earlier blog asked John Steigerwald about Pitt TE Dorin Dickerson future as an NFL Wide-out. I like Dickerson's versatility as a TE/HB/Special Teams player/wide receiver/ athlete . He is a real big strong thick guy that could even develop into a Strong Safety which in my scouting opinion is where his future could be because of his instincts, strength, closing speed and ability to defend a TE . Far fetched but I like to go out on the limb once and a while.

Woodland Hills HS vs DeMatha Catholic

No, this is not a football game coming up the Labor Day weekend. A battle is brewing on what high school has the most former players in the NFL. Ironically both of these high school coaches from Woodland Hills HS and DeMatha Catholic are Pittsburgh guys. Woodland Hills, under the tutelage of Coach George Novak, has presently 5 players in the NFL which is in a second place tie which a few other high school across the USA. DeMatha, under the direction of Coach Bill McGregor, leads the NFL with 7 active players. George Novak is from Munhall and has been head coach at Woody High for more tha 25 years whereas Bill McGregor, the head coach of DeMatha, is from the Dormont section of Pittsburgh, and has been head coach also more than 25 years. Actually, Bill McGregor was National High School Coach of the Year a few years back and was honored at the Super Bowl. Bill McGregor and myself have known each other since 4th grade and played together at the famous grade school St. Bernard of Mt. Lebanon. We then went on and played at South Hills Catholic(which is now Seton LaSalle). Bill went on to have a great career at Cleveland, OH John Carroll University as a Middle Linebacker. Actually Bill is close friends with John Steigerwald, former KDKA sportscaster and now has the Blog JustWatchTheGame and a book coming out with the same title which will be a very interesting ,entertaining, and insightful book to read. With the 7 players in the NFL, barring no one gets released, DeMatha has the National lead. One player OT Jacob Bender, who is on the Giants practice squad. He has strong possibilities of making the Giants active roster. This would give DeMatha 8 NFL players. DeMatha is somewhat thin in the 2010 draft. Whereas, Woody High has 5 players active in the league with a possibility of adding more in this 2010 draft. They

are Potential first rounder Rob Gronkowski, TE from Arizona, CB Terrence Johnson, a potential later round pick from California U. PA, and WR/TE Wes Lyons from West Virginia, a possible later round choice. The battle is brewing to take over the Number 1 position. Here are DeMatha NFL players: RB Brian Westbrook-Eagles-Villanova, CB Byron Westbrook-Redskins-out of D-3 school Salisbury State, OT Quinn Ojinnaka-Falcons-Syracuse, TE John Owens-Seahawks-Notre Dame, CB Josh Wilson-Seahawks-Maryland, OC Edwin Williams-Redskins-Maryland, DE/OLB Derek Wake-Dolphins-Penn State. Here are Woody High's NFL players: WR Steve Breaston-Cardinals-Michigan, FB Lousaka Polite-Dolphis-Pitt, DE Jason Taylor-Jets-Akron, FS Ryan Mundy-Steelers-West Virginia, and Shawntae Spencer-49ers-Pitt. By the way, it is time for Coach George Novak, who has done a phenomenal coaching job at Woodland Hills and before Woodland Hills, Steel Valley HS, to get recognized before he retires as National Coach of the Year just like Bill McGregor